


Ready-Made

by nochick_fics



Series: After School Special [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Relationship, Divorce, Family, M/M, Prequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-11 11:12:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13523037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nochick_fics/pseuds/nochick_fics
Summary: Roy Mustang wasn't interested in having a relationship or a family, until he ended up with both. (Prequel to After School Special.)





	1. Fate and Flavored Vodka

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel to After School Special.

While many of his fellow teachers celebrated the survival of another school week with their sanity intact by hitting the nearest bar to get drunk, Roy Mustang opted instead to go home. After a brief stop at the liquor store.  
  
He strolled the aisles, looking for something strong enough to make the pain of grading quizzes on a Friday night a little more manageable. If he wanted to refrain from banging his head off the walls at some of the responses he expected to encounter while he worked, beer just wasn’t going to cut it. Although his students were a great bunch of kids, he could not help but fear for some of them after they graduated, especially if their knowledge of basic things--or tragic lack thereof--was any indication of their real world potential.  
  
Even though Roy generally preferred whiskey above all else if given a choice, he wanted something different tonight, something that he hadn’t had in a while. He rounded a corner and found himself in the vodka aisle, and he stopped to contemplate row upon row of flavored choices, from vanilla to lemon to cherry to bacon ( _really?_ ) before deciding on apple. Indeed, an appletini sounded like a nice way to help pass the time. Surely he could make one that tasted just as good as the one he had a couple of months back during a most cumbersome blind date with a guy who had spent most of the night rambling on and on about his herd of corgis.  
  
Needless to say, the drink was the best part of the entire date.  
  
“An appletini, huh? God, I really  _am_  gay,” he muttered to himself, his lips curving into a self-deprecating grin.  
  
And that was the other reason he had chosen not to join his co-workers that evening. Not because of the appletini thing, although he did think that it was best to enjoy copious amounts of that particular beverage in the privacy of his own home. But rather because some of the other teachers, namely the female ones, had made it their collective mission in life to set him up with anything with a penis. From their brothers to their neighbors to corgi-loving weirdos to any other random guy that triggered a blip on their gaydar, Roy was constantly bombarded with unsolicited offers for set-ups because heaven forbid that he had yet to find the perfect partner, adopt the perfect kids, and buy the perfect house, complete with a rainbow picket fence.  
  
But he thought it was sweet, in its own occasionally frustrating way, that they cared enough to attempt to lend a helping hand in his love life. Roy knew that there were far worse things than the constant meddling of well-meaning lady friends. Some out teachers never knew a moment of peace. Roy had heard tales of some gay educators who were constantly harassed, at work  _and_  at home. Some were even accused of inappropriate interactions with their students, the thought of which was something that Roy could not even begin to fathom. So yes, he was grateful to work with people who went out of their way to express their acceptance of his sexual orientation as opposed to vilifying him. However, he was in no mood for the endless variations of “How about that guy?” tonight. He just wanted to go home, drink his fruity drink, and red pen the hell out of some tests so that he could spend the rest of his weekend doing whatever he wanted.  
  
“I didn’t know that vodka was so funny.”  
  
The sound of a deep and amused voice snapped Roy back to reality. He was so lost in his own train of thought that he completely forgot he was standing in the middle of a liquor store aisle and grinning like a fool.  
  
He spun around to address the person standing behind him… and found himself staring into eyes that were as green as the label on the bottle of Sour Apple Smirnoff he planned on purchasing. The glasses that the man wore did not detract from their loveliness in the slightest.  
  
“Oh… sorry.” Roy had no idea how else to respond. And not just because he knew that he must have looked like an absolute dumbass but because he was completely taken aback by the stranger’s presence. More specifically, his reaction to it. Roy did not get around much, in spite of a reputation among the faculty to the contrary, and rare were the occasions when he was genuinely attracted to another man, due to both a lack of suitable options and desire. He had no immediate interest whatsoever in a relationship, so he focused instead on teaching and advancing his career--because  _Principal_  Mustang had a great ring to it--and he never gave much thought to having a social life outside of his dates gone wrong.  
  
The man stepped in front of Roy and smiled, and Roy was so preoccupied with trying  _not_  to gawk at his black hair and well-trimmed beard and overall gorgeousness that he almost didn’t hear what the fellow had to say next.  
  
“So what kind of vodka do you suggest? I’m usually a whiskey guy, myself.”  
  
A whiskey guy. Just like Roy. It was a coincidence that was fit for a cheesy romantic movie.  
  
“That depends,” Roy replied, attempting to sound casual. “Are you mixing it or drinking it straight?”  
  
“Whatever will get me shitfaced the quickest.”  
  
“Then straight,” Roy said. “Any of these will do the trick for maximum shitfacedness.”  
  
The handsome stranger chuckled at his wording. “I figured as much,” he admitted. “Well, thanks for the advice… um...”  
  
It took Roy a moment to realize that the man was waiting for an introduction.  
  
“Roy.”  
  
“Hello, Roy. I’m Maes.”  
  
“Nice to meet you.” Roy wasn’t sure if the tingle of excitement that surged up his arm when they shook hands was a sign of Maes’ obvious sex appeal or the fact that he really needed to get laid. Most likely a little bit of both.  
  
“Hey, I was going to stop by that fake Starbucks place a couple of doors down before going home,” Maes said. “If you’re not busy right now, do you want to join me for a cup of coffee or a mocha… frappu… latte… whatever?”  
  
All of a sudden, grading quizzes just didn’t seem that important anymore.  
  
“Well, I  _do_  love a good mochafrappulatte,” Roy responded with a smirk.  
  
“Alright, it’s a date.”  
  
Maes smiled again. This time Roy felt a tingle in more than just his arm.  
  
“A date,” he agreed. “Okay.”  
  
They made their way to the checkout with their vodka selections, sour apple for Roy and bacon for Maes (“It’s  _bacon_ -flavored!” he had argued, as if that was reason enough).  
  
“So what’s the occasion for getting wasted tonight?” Roy asked while they walked towards the exit. “Besides the fact that it’s Friday.”  
  
“My daughter is spending the weekend with her mother,” Maes explained. “This will be the first time that I’ve had a chance to drink in a while.”  
  
Roy paused and gaped at the other man, who had not yet noticed that he was no longer walking beside him.  
  
Did he just say…  _daughter?_


	2. Treading Denial

“I made you uncomfortable, didn’t I? Bringing up my daughter like that?”  
  
Roy looked up from his knockoff Frappuccino and saw those gorgeous green eyes watching him intently, and just a bit worriedly.  
  
“Not at all,” he stated, hoping to reassure him. So the guy had a kid. What the hell did he care?  
  
Maes’ revelation  _did_  throw him for one hell of a loop, leaving him with way more questions than answers, but it wasn’t like the man had confessed to being a convicted felon or something along those lines. And while the casual mention of one’s offspring was not the best way to start off a pick-up, Maes’ extra baggage was of no immediate concern to Roy since he wasn’t looking for anything more than a good time. Maybe even a  _few_  good times, if he was lucky.  
  
“Are you divorced?” He knew it was none of his business, but his curiosity demanded that he ask at least  _one_ question regarding Maes’ situation.  
  
“Getting there.” Maes took a sip of his coffee before speaking again. “It’s been… complicated.”  
  
“Break-ups usually are,” Roy said. Not that he knew from personal experience as he could barely even remember the last time he was involved with someone for more than a week. “Does your wife know that you’re…”  
  
He paused and tried to think of what he should say. Maes had a kid so obviously he wasn’t gay. Or maybe he was? Then again, he could have also been bisexual or pansexual or something else-sexual or wondering or questioning or whatever else was out there these days that Roy had no idea existed.  
  
“A big, flaming coffee drinker?” Maes offered, sensing Roy’s hesitation at selecting the label that would best describe him. “Oh, yeah. She knows.”  
  
Roy grinned and took a sip of his drink. “Sorry. I just didn’t want to assume anything.”  
  
“I’m gay, Roy.” Maes’ tone was soft and reflective. “I tried really hard not to be, but it just got to the point where I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I hate that I hurt Gracia but staying with her would have only hurt her more in the long run. So now I’m just trying to figure out how to live my life without losing my little girl. Hence… complicated.”  
  
He offered Roy an apologetic smile.  
  
“I’m sorry. This is probably the worst date you’ve ever had and we’re only a half hour into it.”  
  
“Far from it,” Roy insisted. Compared to the corgi-lover and a bevy of other cringeworthy experiences, Maes’ marital drama wasn’t that bad at all.  
  
“That’s good to know.” Maes moved his coffee aside and folded his arms on top of the table. “Anyway, enough about me. You said that you’re a teacher, right?”  
  
“I am,” Roy confirmed.  
  
“Do you enjoy it?”  
  
“I do, most of the time. Even when it drives me to drink.”  
  
Out of habit, Roy swiped his finger through the whipped cream atop his beverage. It was only after he stuck his finger in his mouth that he stopped to ponder whether or not it looked kind of slutty. Sure enough, Maes’ eyes briefly widened behind his glasses upon seeing him do that, and he quickly lowered his head, taking a sudden interest in his watch.  
  
But not before Roy noticed the hint of pink in his cheeks, which he found cuter than words.  
  
It occurred to him that he had never thought of a man as cute before. Then again, he had never met a man who fit the description until now. Not that there was any meaning behind it because there most certainly wasn’t.  
  
“So why did you decide to talk to me back at the store?” he wanted to know, pushing all thoughts of cuteness out of his mind. “Do you normally approach random grinning people?”  
  
“Not normally.” Maes chuckled and pushed up his glasses, which had slid down his nose when he ducked his head. “I don’t know. The minute I saw you, I just… I really wanted to meet you.”  
  
It was hardly the smoothest line that Roy had ever heard, but it was honest and heartfelt and it got his attention.  
  
Their eyes met across the table, in a moment that seemed to stretch out forever. Years later, Roy would pinpoint that exact moment as the one in which he first started falling in love.  
  
But of course, he didn’t know that yet.  
  
“Are you hungry?” he asked.  
  
“Starving, actually.”  
  
“Would you like to get something to eat?”  
  
Maes smiled again, something that Roy was starting to find incredibly distracting.  
  
“I would like that a lot.”  
  
*****  
  
They went to a nearby steakhouse where they ended up learning more about each other in two hours than most would learn in two weeks. After they had their fill of more coffee and steak and a gigantic slice of chocolate cake that begged to be eaten, they left the restaurant and walked out to the parking lot.  
  
“Good grief, I think I just gained twenty pounds,” Roy said as he fished his keys out of his pocket.  
  
“Same here.” Maes leaned back against his car. “But I had a good time.”  
  
“So did I.”  
  
Maes twirled his own car keys around his fingers. “If you’re not doing anything tomorrow night--”  
  
“Okay.”  
  
Roy wasn’t sure which one of them was more surprised by his eager reply.  
  
“I could have asked you to rob a bank with me for all you know,” Maes pointed out.  
  
“And I probably still would have said yes,” Roy replied with a shrug.  
  
They shared a laugh under the awful glow of the parking lot lights as they discussed how two people would go about combining a date with a crime spree. None of their proposed scenarios ended well.  
  
Afterwards, they finally parted ways, with fond wishes for a good night and the promise of meeting again the next day.  
  
Roy smiled the whole way home.  
  
*****  
  
Three hours, four appletinis, and a stack of quizzes later, he propped his feet on the couch and let out a tired sigh. No one failed, which was a pleasant surprise. Maybe there was hope for some of his students after all. Either that, or he was going way too easy on them.  
  
Roy closed his eyes and replayed the events of the evening over and over in his mind. He knew better than to lose himself to the anticipation that he felt, but he was already far past the point of being able to stop it. Ultimately, however, it really didn’t matter. As long as he kept things simple and with no strings attached, then it would all work out in the end. He and Maes would have their fun and maybe even remain friends after the fun was done, and then Roy would go back to avoiding bad set-ups.  Easy enough.  
  
The delicate chime of his cell phone jolted him out of a near sleep. He grabbed it from the small stand by the sofa and squinted at the display until his eyes focused and were able to read the text message that he received:  
  
 _Bacon vodka tastes like shit! See you tomorrow. :-)_  
  
Roy stared at the text for a very long time.  
  
The wave of unexpected affection that overcame him lasted even longer.  
  
Eventually, he returned the phone to the stand.  
  
“Keep it simple, huh?”  
  
Roy covered his face with his hands.  
  
“Yeah, right.”


	3. Embracing the Inevitable

The two-story suburban house that Maes called home was very nice. Cozy, even. Being a single man, Roy couldn’t begin to imagine living in such a spacious dwelling himself, but he could still appreciate the place for all of the comfort that it exuded.  
  
While Maes busied himself in the kitchen, Roy strolled around the living room, sipping on a glass of whiskey (after vehemently refusing a shot of bacon-flavored vodka) and admiring his surroundings. A cluster of photographs hanging on the wall caught his attention and he made his way towards it, whereupon he got his first glimpse of Maes’ daughter.  
  
And… well… she was adorable. Not in that just-saying-it-to-be-polite kind of way but  _genuinely_  adorable. Roy wasn’t good with determining baby ages, but if he had to guess hers, he would have said that she was about one. Maybe. She didn’t have much in the way of hair, but what little she did have was adorned with a red bow. And she also didn’t look a thing like Maes, for as much as a baby could resemble a parent at such a young age, so Roy presumed that she probably looked more like her mother.  
  
“I see you’ve found my Elysia shrine.”  
  
Roy grinned at the man’s ever so accurate description. “Kind of hard to miss it.”  
  
He watched as Maes reached out and touched a picture in which he was cradling the little girl in his arms, his face expressing a paternal joy that Roy did not believe he would ever know. It should have been a deterrent, all of that blatant affection. But yet, Roy found it to be surprisingly sweet and endearing.  
  
“Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes.” Maes turned to Roy and pointed at his glass. “Do you want me to top you off?”  
  
“Not yet,” Roy said. “I suppose I should try to stay somewhat sober if I go home tonight.”  
  
...If?  
  
He raised his glass and took a drink, hoping to mask his horrified reaction over casually blurting the possibility of a sleepover. If Maes noticed the slip, then he wisely remained quiet about it… but the knowing look in his eyes was not indicative of one who let a lot of things fly over his head.  
  
When Maes returned to the kitchen, Roy took a seat on the couch. He still couldn’t get over what he had said and mentally scolded himself for doing so. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get Maes naked but he only just met the guy yesterday. It was only appropriate to wait more than twenty-four hours before trying to get down his pants.  
  
They sat down to eat shortly after, and Roy was impressed by Maes’ culinary skills. While feasting on assorted veggies and a roast that practically melted in Roy’s mouth, they discussed silly things that grown men had no business talking about, like what the hokey pokey was  _really_  all about and whether chocolate went better with peanut butter or caramel.  
  
When dinner was done, they settled on the sofa for more whiskey and conversation. Roy was somewhat disappointed that there was a respectable amount of space between them, but ultimately he thought it was for the best because at some point between sitting down at the dinner table and this very moment, he had decided that he was more than willing to break his twenty-four hour rule.  
  
No one had ever had that kind of effect on him before.  _Ever._  
  
Maes sighed contentedly and turned to look at him. “Thanks for coming over, Roy.”  
  
“Thanks for inviting me,” Roy replied, gripping his glass tightly and trying not to get lost in the other man’s gaze. “And for not asking me to help you rob a bank.”  
  
Maes’ laughter filled the living room, and Roy instinctively grinned in return. When the noise died down, they regarded each other in comfortable silence. Roy started to wonder how much longer he should wait until he made his escape. He didn’t  _want_  to leave, but he also wasn’t sure that he could remain on his best behavior if Maes was going to insist on staring at him like that.  
  
“So…” he began, trying and failing to think of another random topic to discuss.  
  
“Roy?”  
  
Thankfully, it appeared as if Maes had thought of something.  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Would you be terribly offended if I kissed you?”  
  
That was definitely not the something that Roy was expecting.  
  
He was so caught off guard by the question that he almost dropped his drink. He blinked at Maes, who looked so handsome and cute and embarrassed all at once, and he felt something give way in his chest, something that he didn’t want to want and was completely powerless to resist.  
  
“No,” he responded quietly. “Not at all.”  
  
Maes leaned over and gingerly touched his lips to Roy’s. Although the kiss barely lasted a few seconds, it ignited a desire in Roy unlike anything that he had ever experienced before.  
  
“Thank you.” Maes lowered his head and stared down into his glass but that did nothing to hide the smile on his face that was plain as day.  
  
Roy set his drink on the coffee table and turned towards Maes. He reached out and grabbed him by the shirt, and then drew him into a long and lingering kiss. Maes jolted when Roy’s tongue slid between his lips, and when fingers slid upward and weaved through his dark hair, he started to moan.  
  
Eventually, and most reluctantly, they parted. Roy let his hands trail along Maes’ beard as he pulled away and returned to his side of the couch.  
  
“You’re welcome,” he said softly.  
  
Roy was turned on beyond belief, and given the way that Maes reacted to his kiss, he thought it was pretty safe to assume that the feeling was mutual. But more than that,  _much_  more, was the emergence of something even stronger than his lust.  
  
He  _liked_  this man. He liked him  _a lot._  
  
“I make a really good omelette,” Maes said suddenly.  
  
“What?” Roy frowned in confusion at the statement that seemed to come from out of nowhere. But when he saw the impish look on Maes’ face, he immediately understood what the other man was hinting at.  _“Oh.”_  
  
Maes shrugged. “I just figured since you’re already here for dinner…”  
  
“... that I should stick around for breakfast, too,” Roy concluded.  
  
“Yeah. If you want.”  
  
Oh, did Roy ever want.  
  
“Well, I  _do_  love a good omelette,” he replied with a smirk, thinking back to his similar response from the day before.  
  
Their fingers touched as he took Maes’ glass from his hands. Roy placed the glass on the table next to his and rose to his feet.  
  
And waited.  
  
“Just so you know,” Maes started as he stood up. “I’ve never done this before. I mean with a man.”  
  
Roy nodded in understanding. He suspected as much after hearing his story.  
  
Sensing Maes’ nervousness, Roy took him by the hand and singled out his index finger. Inspired by another event from their first meeting, accidental though it was, he placed the tip of Maes’ finger into his mouth and sucked on it gently.  
  
It was hardly a proper method for combating nerves, but when the sound of a faint whimper hit his ears, he knew that it worked like a charm.  
  
“That’s okay,” he promised after letting him go. “I’m sure you’ll figure out what to do.”


	4. Prelude to a Clusterf*ck

As far as Roy knew, this was the first time that he had ever been with a man who was a virgin, at least in the gay sex sense of the word. But if he was expecting the shy kisses and timid touches of an inexperienced partner, then he was sorely mistaken. From the moment they entered the bedroom, Maes demonstrated that he was just as good at giving as he was at receiving, making up for his fumbling with fervor, and as they kissed and groped their way over to the bed, it was abundantly clear that whatever trepidation he had felt when they were downstairs was now a thing of the past.  
  
They fell down on top of a comforter that was adorned with flowers and some other unidentifiable design that Roy presumed was selected by Maes’ ex. He realized that he was not nearly as uncomfortable as he probably should have been by the fact that he was about to have sex with a man he just met in the same bed that man had once shared with his wife. Then again, it was difficult to be put off by such things when something  _extremely_  hard was grinding against his thigh.  
  
After a while, Maes broke their kiss long enough to remove his glasses and place them on the nightstand next to a baby monitor.  
  
“Can you see without those?” Roy asked.  
  
“Not really,” Maes answered as he eased his hand between Roy’s legs. “But I can  _feel_  my way around just fine.”  
  
Roy moaned and shuddered as fingers curled around him and squeezed. He thrust his hips, pushing against Maes’ hand as much as his tented pants would allow. Never before had he felt such raging desire over the mere act of fondling. Hell, he had fondled himself plenty over the years and never once got that worked up about it.  
  
But there was something about  _this man_  that dismantled Roy in the best possible way, and he had no intention whatsoever of trying to fight it anymore.  
  
Green eyes regarded him closely, watching him carefully for any hint of discomfort. Roy placed his hand over Maes’ and pressed down. It was meant to be a reassuring gesture but the subsequent jolt of pleasure didn’t hurt, either.  
  
“We should try this without clothes,” he suggested. “Unless you want me to come in my pants.”  
  
Maes stared at Roy as he stroked him through a barrier of cotton.  
  
“Am I weird for thinking that’s hot?”  
  
Roy blinked at the other man before bursting into a hearty laugh, which seemed highly inappropriate under the circumstances but hopelessly unavoidable.  
  
“Yes,” he replied, still chuckling. “But weird in a good way.”  
  
They parted long enough to strip each other naked, leaving a pile of clothes scattered along the floor. Maes’ body was everything that Roy thought it would be and he wasted no time pushing it down on the bed and straddling it. He slowly kissed his way down Maes’ heaving chest and stomach, enjoying every inch of him.  
  
After nudging Maes’ legs open wider, Roy settled between them. He gazed down at Maes’ cock, which was full and hard and just a tad bit damp at the tip, and then he took it into his grasp, savoring the heat against his palm.  
  
There was something heady about knowing that he was the first man to touch Maes in such an intimate way, that no matter how many other men Maes ever slept with in the future (a thought he found unexpectedly vexing), Roy would always have the distinction of being the first. And as he leaned forward and took him into his mouth, he decided to make tonight an experience that Maes would never forget.  
  
Judging from the sharp cry that filled the room, Roy was well on his way to achieving that goal.  
  
Maes squirmed beneath him and let out a breathless string of profanities as well as numerous praises to deities. It was slow going at first, seeing as how Roy was out of practice. But he was glad to know that he had not lost his touch, judging from Maes’ reaction.  
  
Roy teased him relentlessly with his tongue, flattening it against his shaft and running it along the underside with each rise and fall of his head. And when he dragged it across the head of Maes’ dick and started teasing the slit, he thought for sure that the man was going to jump right out of the bed.  
  
Fingers slid through his hair and clamped down, gripping it tightly. Roy could feel Maes swelling and throbbing in his mouth and he started sucking him harder and faster. He braced himself for the inevitable, but even so, he was still caught off guard by the sheer amount of release that flooded his throat. Maes groaned and arched his back, forcing his cock between Roy’s lips as far as it would go, fucking up into his mouth until he went soft.  
  
After that, Roy sat up on his knees and peered at the trembling man before him. His own cock was fit to burst by that point, but as much as he wanted to get off, he wanted even more to watch Maes bask in the afterglow of his first homosexual encounter.  
  
Eventually, Maes managed to open his eyes. “Holy shit.”  
  
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Roy said.  
  
“It  _was_  a compliment.”  
  
With a tired smile, Maes grabbed a bottle of lube from the nightstand drawer and handed it to Roy.  
  
“Your turn.”  
  
*****  
  
After a night filled with sex, talking, drinking, and more sex, the lovers finally called it quits and fell asleep. Now, between the morning light that filtered into the bedroom and the scratch of Maes’ beard against his shoulder, Roy gave up all hopes of sleeping any longer. Not that he minded the arms and legs that had possessively wrapped around him for the better part of the night. Being captive to Maes' embrace felt way too right to resist.  
  
He pried open his eyes and turned over to face the man who had decided to use him as a body pillow while they dozed. Maes was wide awake and looking at Roy with a mixture of adoration and reverence.  
  
“Good morning,” he said softly, propping himself up on one elbow.  
  
“Morning,” Roy croaked in response. “What time is it?”  
  
“Almost nine. Ready for your omelette?”  
  
“Of course I’m ready for it.” Roy ran a hand through his hair, which was sticking up every which way. “I had sex with you to get that omelette,” he added with a smirk.  
  
Maes grinned and moved in to kiss him… until they were interrupted by the opening and closing of the front door.  
  
“Shit,” he muttered, getting up with a noticeable wince and slipping on shorts that never made it into the bed with him. “What the hell? She’s early.”  
  
All of a sudden, Roy had a  _very_  bad feeling.  
  
The joyous sound of a baby’s babbling only made it worse.  
  
“Is that your daughter?”  
  
Maes bent down--again with a wince--and grabbed the shirt that had also spent the night on the floor.  
  
“That’s my daughter,” he confirmed.  
  
 _“Maes? Are you upstairs?”_  
  
Maes closed his eyes and sighed.  
  
“ _And_  my wife.”


	5. BONUS - Class Is Now In Session

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A rather, ahem, penetrative scene that was omitted from Chapter 4. ;-)

“Your turn.”  
  


With his raging hard-on momentarily forgotten, Roy stared at the bottle of lube in his hand, his expression not unlike that of one who was attempting to solve one of life’s great mysteries. He fully understood what Maes wanted him to do, and he most certainly had no qualms about doing it. However, he honestly hadn’t expected him to be so forthcoming about being on the receiving end of sex. While Roy was a man who had no problem going either way with regards to topping and bottoming, as there was much enjoyment to be had on both sides of the coin, most of the men he had ever slept with were usually pretty devoted to one side or the other and had shown very little willingness to switch things up.  
  
To be perfectly frank, he had just assumed that Maes would want to top.  
  
And to be even franker, he had really wanted him to.  
  
As if sensing the reason for his hesitation, Maes grinned and shrugged. “Think of it as Gay Sex 101. Besides, how else am I supposed to learn how to do this?”  
  
Roy smiled at his logic and figured what the hell? He  _was_  an educator, after all.  
  
“Good point.”  
  
He swallowed hard, still tasting a faint hint of Maes’ cum, and he ran his hand along the other man’s left thigh, his fingers grazing over firm muscle. Maes’ entire body was pure perfection, from head to toe, and Roy wished that he possessed the stamina to spend the rest of the night getting to know it. Maybe… no,  _definitely_  next time.  
  
After popping the cap on the lube, he poured some of the cool liquid onto his fingers and rubbed them together to warm it. He glanced at Maes, who appeared to be watching him closely, but he had no idea if that was because of his excitement or near blindness. A little bit of both, perhaps.  
  
He ran his hand over Maes’ dick, which twitched in response. Roy found that it was still semi-soft, which was to be expected seeing as how Maes had just come in his mouth, but he had a feeling that it would not remain that way for much longer. He moved over his testicles, cupping them gently along the way, and further downward, his wet digits seeking, feeling, and finally finding. Roy kept his eyes trained on Maes as he gingerly worked the first finger in, studying him for signs of discomfort and prepared to slow down or stop altogether should he be told to do so.  
  
“Are you okay?” he asked.  
  
“It feels a little strange,” Maes admitted. “But I like it.”  
  
“And there you have it. Everything you need to know about gay sex summed up in two sentences.”  
  
Maes chuckled at that. Laughter was not exactly the sort of reaction that Roy was anticipating while he was knuckle deep in another man’s ass. Talk about strange.  
  
After applying some more lube, he worked in a second finger, his teeth clenching at the snug warmth of Maes’ body. Curling and twisting and scissoring, Roy stretched him open as patiently as he could stand, until he touched upon something inside of Maes that made the man gasp loudly.  
  
“More of that, please,” Maes whispered shakily.  
  
Now it was Roy’s turn to grin. He nodded and added a third finger, captivated by the sight of Maes squirming beneath him and trying his damnedest to force them in deeper.  
  
Eventually, Roy withdrew his fingers. He hooked his arms around Maes’ legs and pressed forward with his cock, pushing against Maes’ lube-slicked hole until it gave way. The sound of a soft grunt hit his ears, but Maes looked anything but distressed at being penetrated for the very first time. Roy closed his eyes and cursed under his breath, overcome from the sensation as well as the knowledge that he was this man’s first.  
  
Maes wasn’t the only one who would never forget this moment.  
  
When he was able to regain some measure of self-control, he opened his eyes and saw that Maes was hard again. Roy reached out to touch him but was halted by a hand grabbing onto his wrist.  
  
“Wait,” Maes said, shaking his head.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Roy asked, concerned that he had somehow miscalculated.  
  
“Nothing. I was just thinking that I would save it for my turn.”  
  
Maes pulled Roy down and wrapped his arms around him.  
  
“So fuck me,” he purred into Roy’s ear. “And don’t worry about holding back.”  
  
Maes’ kiss was desperate and hungry, and what little restraint Roy had fought so valiantly to maintain vanished in an instant.  
  
Groaning into Maes’ mouth, Roy started to move, taking Maes as carefully as he could manage at first, in spite of the man’s unexpected request. He had bottomed enough over the years to know that Maes wasn’t going to feel so hot down below come morning, and he didn’t want to make it any worse than it was already going to be.  
  
After they parted, Maes locked his legs around Roy’s waist. He arched his back high off the bed, his dick rubbing up against the firmness of Roy’s stomach. His eyes sought out Roy’s and remained fixed there, never once wavering while the other man had his way with him.  
  
Unfazed by the lustful observation, Roy brought his hands down on either side of Maes’ head. Gradually, his thrusting increased, and his feet pushed against the bed for leverage, wanting,  _craving_  as much of Maes as he could get. Everything was a blur of heat and pleasure, rising and swelling, higher and higher, ascending towards an inevitable peak until all Roy could do was moan and tremble and burrow against Maes’ neck as his body erupted.  
  
He collapsed on top of Maes in a sweaty and undignified heap. Just as he was about to try and summon the strength to move, strong arms tightened around him and fingers reassuringly stroked his back. Roy had just come harder than he had in very long time… yet he was at a complete loss to explain how and why Maes’ embrace felt even better than that.  
  
They stayed the way for a few minutes, until Maes finally rolled them over onto their sides. There were no words, just a seemingly endless cycle of gazing and touching and kissing.  
  
And that was when Roy began to wonder if it was actually possible to fall in love with a stranger.  
  
Later, they made their way into the bathroom--very slowly, in Maes’ case. After that, they got dressed and went downstairs. Since it was still somewhat early and they had the rest of the night ahead of them, they entertained themselves by drinking more whiskey and engaging in further rumination of all things pointless while sprawled out on the couch with their limbs intertwined.  
  
Just after midnight, they retired to the bedroom for good. After shedding their clothes, Maes pushed Roy down on the bed and crawled on top of him.  
  
“Are you sure that you know what you’re doing?” Roy asked teasingly as the other man positioned his muscular body over him.  
  
“I think I’ll be okay.” The gleam in Maes’ eyes was fierce and promising. “I had a  _really_ great teacher.”


	6. Then Came Elysia

Roy felt like he was the star of a bad soap opera. How else was he supposed to feel when he was lying naked in a married man’s bed and the wife of said married man was right downstairs?  
  
He tried not to imagine some crazed woman bursting through the bedroom door with a very sharp knife and attempting to relieve him of his penis. Roy didn’t think it would come to that because he wanted to believe that Maes and Gracia had an amicable relationship, if only for the sake of their daughter. But when he caught the sound of a woman’s voice, hushed but clearly angry, he started to calculate the odds of surviving a second-story jump from the window. He debated getting out of the bed and putting on his clothes, but decided against it. Although he didn’t know for sure if Gracia would hear him moving around the room, he wasn’t about to take the chance of drawing unwanted attention to himself.  
  
After a few more minutes of listening to muffled conversation, Roy heard the front door open and close. There hadn’t been any slamming so that was a good sign. He breathed a sigh of relief and sat up, just as Maes knocked and poked his head through the door.  
  
“I’m really sorry,” he began as he entered the room, shaking his head. “She’s never done that before, barging in like that. I think she only did it this time because she saw a second car in the driveway.” Maes sat down on the edge of the bed. “If you want to take off, I understand. I just don’t want you to think that this is the kind of thing that happens all the time. Trust me, it won’t happen again.”  
  
Roy thought that if he had half a brain, he absolutely would have taken off. This was  _not_  keeping it simple. Maes was a fantastic guy and an incredible lay, but there was also a whole lot of baggage there that Roy did not need. Babies and exes with house keys… it was too much.  
  
Maes looked at him, and Christ, did he ever look gorgeous, bedhead and all.  
  
“If you do decide to go, I just want you to know that I had a really nice time last night. And not just because of the sex, although that was really nice, too.” He stood up and walked over to the door. “I have to get back downstairs. Elysia’s in her playpen but still. Babies.”  
  
Maes left the room. Roy stared thoughtfully at the closed door.  
  
A few minutes later, he finally got out of the bed, having made his decision.  
  
*****  
  
Roy stepped into the kitchen just in time to see Maes kicking the refrigerator door closed, one hand holding a carton of eggs and the other one holding a tiny human being.  
  
“Hey.”  
  
Maes looked genuinely surprised to see that he was still there. Roy knew the feeling; he was still surprised himself that he had chosen to not to leave.  
  
“Elysia, I presume?” he asked, looking at the child that was tugging on the collar of Maes’ shirt and cooing ever so merrily.  
  
“That’s right.” Maes set the eggs down on the counter and slowly approached Roy, taking his time as if giving him a chance to run should he change his mind. When he realized that Roy really wasn’t going anywhere, he stopped in front of him and presented his daughter. “Elysia, this is Roy. Can you wave hello?”  
  
The little girl raised one chubby fist in the air. She opened and closed her hand repeatedly, mimicking her father’s baby-wave and giggling as if it was the most hilarious thing ever. Roy had never given kids much thought outside of educating them, but looking at Elysia and seeing such unrestrained joy over something so silly was… indescribably precious.  
  
While it would take a little while longer for him to come to terms with his feelings for Maes, when it came to Elysia, it was love at first sight.  
  
He joined in on the waving, opening and closing his hand along with Maes and Elysia. Distracted by this new development, Elysia stared at his hand, her big, green eyes never leaving his fingers. Roy wasn’t sure what to do next as baby etiquette was lost on him, but Elysia solved that mystery by grabbing onto his middle finger, shoving it into her mouth, and gnawing on it.  
  
Roy gaped at Maes as Elysia went to town on his trapped digit. Maes chuckled and moved backwards, saving Roy’s finger from a vicious gumming.  
  
“Sorry, she’s teething,” he explained as he placed her in a high chair and strapped her in. Maes handed her some sort of toy type thing that Roy could not identify and Elysia stuck that into her mouth instead.  
  
“It didn’t hurt,” Roy said. “Actually, it kind of tickled.”  
  
Their eyes met across the kitchen.  
  
“I’m glad you stayed,” Maes said quietly.  
  
Roy tried to keep a straight face in spite of the warmth that was spreading through his chest. Once again, he found himself wondering how it was possible to feel this way about someone he just met. “So am I.”  
  
“So… how about that omelette?”  
  
“Sure,” Roy answered with a smirk. “That’s the  _real_  reason I’m still here.”  
  
*****  
  
After breakfast (and what Roy considered to be the best omelette he had ever eaten), the three of them made their way into the living room.  
  
“Is she always this sweet?” Roy smiled down at the child in his lap, bouncing her on his knee because it made her laugh, which he thought was just about the best sound in the world.  
  
“She has her moments like most babies,” Maes replied. He scooted across the couch, inching closer to Roy and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “But most of the time, yeah, she’s pretty much the most perfect little girl in the world.”  
  
Roy was amused by the obvious bias on Maes’ part. Even if he was inclined to agree.  
  
“So what are you doing with the rest of your day?” he asked.  
  
“Let’s see.” Maes contemplated the question. “Dishes—”  
  
“I told you that I would help with that,” Roy said.  
  
“And I told you no. But thank you again for offering.” Maes brought his hand up, his fingers dancing along the sensitive skin of Roy’s neck. “Where was I? Oh, yeah. Dishes. And laundry. And hanging out with Elysia.”  
  
“Sounds like fun.”  
  
“Then you don’t get out nearly enough,” Maes responded, playfully tugging his hair. “Why do you ask? Do you want to stick around?” Thinking that he had perhaps overstepped, he immediately backtracked. “No, of course you don’t. I didn’t mean to just throw that out there like that. I’m sure you’ve got much better things to do.”  
  
Somewhere deep down, it occurred to Roy that this was his last chance to get out. To thank Maes for a lovely evening and an even lovelier night (as well as the kick-ass omelette) and walk out the door while it still qualified as a one night stand. As much as he liked Maes—and he really,  _really_  liked him—staying longer would imply something that he wasn’t quite sure he was ready to tackle.  
  
“I wouldn’t mind hanging out for a little while. If that’s okay with you.”  
  
Maes cupped the back of his neck, pulling him into a kiss that caused Elysia to squeal excitedly for some inexplicable reason. After they parted, he touched his forehead to Roy’s and smiled happily.  
  
“I hope you know what you’re getting into.”  
  
Roy sighed deeply… and then started grinning when Elysia somehow managed to start gnawing on his finger again.  
  
“Yeah. Me, too.”


	7. Daddy Roy

Roy opened his eyes and squinted against the bright Saturday morning light that filtered into the room. This was now the third week that he had greeted the morning in Maes’ bed, save for the few nights he stayed home to work on lesson plans—which were a pain enough to deal with without the added distraction of the man presently snoring softly beside him.  
  
Gingerly, he turned onto his side and watched his lover (and didn’t that word just have a lovely ring to it). Maes was lying on his back, one arm slung over his head and the other across his stomach, his fingers occasionally twitching in response to whatever he was dreaming about. Roy suspected that he could stare at him all morning, and he just might have if not for the sound of gentle cooing that came from the baby monitor on the nightstand. He didn’t know if it was loud enough to disturb Maes but decided not to chance it, and he carefully got out of the bed so as not to wake the other man. They’d had sex until well past two in the morning so it stood to reason that he needed some rest.  
  
After tip-toeing around to Maes’ side of the bed and shutting off the monitor, Roy found his pajama bottoms from the pile of clothes on the floor at the foot of the bed, and he put them on and slipped out of the room, carefully closing the door behind him. He crossed the hallway to Elysia’s room and found her staring in fascination at the mobile hanging over her crib, her tiny arms stretching for the brightly colored birds and hearts that dangled just beyond her reach. When she realized that she had an admirer, she turned her head, and when she saw that it was Roy, she flashed him a smile that seemed to illuminate the entire room.  
  
Roy’s heart lurched at the sight of her and it was all he could do not to snatch her up and smother her with hugs and kisses. But when those tiny arms reached for him instead, he had no choice but to respond.  
  
“Good morning, Lee-see,” he whispered, holding her close and breathing in that intoxicating baby smell.  
  
Elysia responded with something along the lines of “gabba gabba” and patted Roy’s face before concluding that it was a fine time to chew on her own fingers. Roy took her over to the changing table and went to work. His diaper changing skills had improved considerably after a first attempt that had gone terribly, messily wrong. (How such a small human was capable of producing such a massive amount of excrement was a mystery to him.) He knew that changing Elysia was not something he  _had_  to do, as Maes had pointed out to him repeatedly, but he didn’t mind at all. He was so smitten with the little girl that he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, whether it was playing with her or feeding her or ensuring she had a clean bottom.  
  
“There you go,” he said after she was properly wiped and powdered and diapered. He closed the snaps on her yellow onesie and picked her up, then went downstairs and into the kitchen to prepare a bottle for her, something else he had improved on in a short period of time. When it was ready, he brought her into the living room and curled up on the couch.  
  
While the infant greedily devoured her liquid breakfast, Roy thought about the drastic changes he had experienced. To think that three weeks ago, all he had cared about was grading papers and getting shitfaced. Before he stepped foot in that liquor store, relationships were the furthest thing from his mind, and babies were even further than that. Now there he was, changing and feeding the daughter of a man he was, as he could now admit to himself, very much in love with, and feeling just as much a father as Maes was to the child he was holding. He had no idea how something so seemingly crazy felt so undoubtedly right.  
  
“It  _is_  crazy, isn’t it?” Roy traced an index finger along a miniature hand that instinctively closed around it in response, holding onto it for dear life. “How much I love you and your Daddy… but I just can’t help myself.”  
  
He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, ignoring the hair that tickled his nose. Roy was so busy observing Elysia that he didn’t realize he had an audience of his own until he heard the sound of a throat clearing coming from the bottom of the stairs.  
  
Remembering what he had said seconds ago, Roy could only hope that he didn’t look nearly as embarrassed as he felt. “How… How long have you been standing there?”  
  
Maes looked from Roy to Elysia to Roy again, his smile warm, his eyes knowing. “Long enough,” he said quietly.  
  
He joined them on the couch, wrapping his arms around Roy’s waist while he watched him feed Elysia. Roy suppressed a shiver as facial hair grazed his jaw and neck, savoring the perfection of the moment. This was not a bad way at all to spend the day. Hell, this was not a bad way at all to spend the rest of his life.  
  
“Thank you for getting her up,” Maes said, sealing his gratitude with a kiss on the cheek.  
  
“You’re welcome. I figured you could use the extra sleep after being up so late.”  
  
“And whose fault is that?”  
  
“Yours.” Roy grinned and playfully elbowed the other man in the side. He turned to look at Maes, expecting an equally juvenile response, but instead he found himself gazing into green eyes that regarded him seriously.  
  
“Did you mean it?” Maes asked. “What you said just now about Elysia… and me?”  
  
This wasn’t precisely how Roy had wanted to reveal his feelings to him, half-dressed with bedhead and morning breath and a baby in his arms, but it was too late to do anything about that now. “Yes, Maes. I meant what I said. Every single word. I love Elysia… and I love you.”  
  
“I love you, too.” Maes pulled him close, his head resting on Roy’s shoulder. As Elysia finished her bottle, Maes smiled at him in that way of his that was somehow goofy yet sexy all at once. “Are you sure this isn’t happening too fast for you?” he wanted to know.  
  
“I don’t really know how fast or slow these things are supposed to go,” Roy admitted. “All I know is how I feel.”  
  
“What about you, Elysia?” Maes asked when Roy handed her over for burping. “How do you feel about having a Daddy Roy?”  
  
Roy blinked at his lover (still loving the sound of that word). “Daddy Roy?”  
  
“Is that too much?”  
  
Shaking his head, Roy replied, “No, not at all. I like it.”  
  
He touched the little girl’s foot, adoration swelling within him. Never once in his adult life did the idea of being a parent cross his mind, but even so, the thought of being Elysia’s other Daddy made him happier than he could have ever possibly imagined.  
  
“There is just one thing,” Maes said as he rubbed the baby’s back in an effort to coax a burp. “If we’re going to be together, as  _partners_ —”  
  
Roy smiled. There was another word to add to his growing list of favorites.  
  
“—then you’ll have to meet Gracia.”  
  
The smile faded. The closest that Roy had come to meeting Maes’ estranged wife was their first night together, when the woman had let herself into the house without invitation and Roy feared for his genitals. Since then, Maes had started taking Elysia to Gracia’s apartment to avoid any additional unpleasantness.  
  
“I know, I know,” Maes said upon seeing his reaction. “But it’s only fair for her to know the man who is going to be a part of her daughter’s life.”  
  
“What if she doesn’t want me to be a part of it?”  
  
“It’s not up to her,” Maes stated firmly. “The only thing she has to do is accept it.”  
  
Roy sighed and leaned against Maes’ shoulder. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about all of this over the past few weeks, but now that it was happening, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. Not just for himself, but for Maes. The last thing Roy wanted was to cause trouble for him, and he had a feeling that forcing Gracia to finally confront her soon-to-be ex-husband’s new lover— _partner_ —would do that very thing. But what was he supposed to do about it? Surely he couldn’t hide from her forever, tempting though that was. And he sure as hell wasn’t about to stop seeing Maes. All he could do was meet her and hope for the best… while preparing for the worst.  
  
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s do it.”  
  
“I’ll set it up for next weekend. That should give both of you time to mentally prepare yourselves.”  
  
Roy personally thought he needed longer than that, but he would make do. A chubby baby hand smacked the top of his head, and he turned just in time to see Elysia let out a surprisingly loud belch. This was apparently funny to her, based on the laughter that followed, and Roy’s heart melted all over again. His apprehension over meeting Gracia was gone for now, pushed aside to bask in the joy that came from the mere act of looking upon Elysia’s angelic face.


End file.
